A TRIBUTE TO MEHDI

by levina | September 27, 2011

Over the summer, I had the privilege being ten feet away from DJ Mehdi, born Mehdi Favéris-Essadi, in New York City at Diplo’s Mad Decent Block Party on July 30th at South Street Seaport. It was the first time I had ever seen him live, but even now, I distinctly remember the incredible love he had for his music and his crowd.

He stormed the stage in the late afternoon with a massive energy for a surprise set, and sampled beats from Carte Blanche, Electric Rescue, Drop the Lime, Boys Noize, and various other DJs to produce some enormous sounds. With just a 30-minute set, Mehdi had all of Pier 17 jumping wildly.

Following his tragic death, the Paris Social Club, where Mehdi often worked, closed its doors for an evening of silence to honor the DJ. Within hours, tributes from other popular DJs and producers poured in. With words and sounds, Chromeo, Feadz, Diplo, Toddla T, and others paid homage to the popular mixer.

Today, I strolled and listened to Mehdi’s largely instrumental, funky house tribute to J Dilla, his set from Mad Decent, and the various tributes to Mehdi himself that have arisen over the past few days.

Two weeks ago, on September 13, the electronic music world suffered a great loss when DJ Mehdi died at the young age of 34 after falling from the roof of his Paris home, but we, as a community, can keep him alive through sharing and enjoying his music.